Therapeutic beds are in wide use in healthcare facilities. The terms “healthcare facilities” and “therapeutic beds” have conventional meanings. For example, “healthcare facilities” include and are not limited to hospitals, rehabilitation centers, long-term care facilities, hospice centers, and on some occasions an individual's home. Therapeutic beds are used not only for patients recovering from trauma or medical procedures, but also for invalid or elderly patients in long-term care facilities. The term “therapeutic bed” is used herein to broadly identify a bed which provides some patient treatment through a fluid cushion. The fluid in the fluid cushion can be air and/or an aqueous solution.
Gaymar Industries, Inc. manufactures therapeutic beds and has for numerous years. An example of a therapeutic mattress is Gaymar's Clini-Dyne® mattress. The Clini-Dyne® mattress system 10 and variations thereof are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The mattress system 10 has a mattress 12 positioned over a support surface 100. The support surface 100 can provide the mattress (a) remains in a supine position as illustrated in FIG. 1, or (b) is able to undergo a gatching process as illustrated in FIG. 2. The gatching process occurs when the support surface 100 is able to position the mattress 12 from a supine position to an inclined position and possibly a cardiac chair position, positions in between the cardiac chair position and the supine position and vice versa.
The mattress 12 contains a fluid cushion 14 (illustrated in broken lines in FIGS. 1 and 2 and for purposes of this discussion receives air). The air cushion 14 is filled with air to a desired air pressure and/or size through an air pump 16. The air pump 16 is positioned within the mattress 12 as illustrated in FIG. 1 or exterior to the mattress 12 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The pressure within the air cushion 14 can be monitored by an air pressure sensor positioned within (a) the air cushion, (b) a conduit that connects the air pump to the air cushion, and/or (c) the air pump. The size of the air cushion can also be monitored by (a) the quantity of light in the air cushion, (b) the distance between two position sensors within the cushion and (c) equivalents thereof. The methods in which the air cushion 14 is filled to a particular air pressure and/or size are known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Whatever the mattress 12 configurations, the air cushion 14 is at least partially enclosed by a cover material 18. It is also understood that additional air and/or fluid cushions 14a may be incorporated in the present invention to provide rotation capabilities, vibration capabilities, turn-assist capabilities, percussion capabilities, and/or any other therapeutic characteristics as illustrated in FIG. 3. If the cushion 14 and/or the additional cushions are limited to providing air, then those cushions can provide low-air loss capabilities. It is also understood that other bedding materials can be positioned above, on the side of, and/or below the cushions 14 to obtain desired results. An example of other bedding materials includes gelastic type materials 15, and/or foam-like materials 22.
The mattress system 10 also normally has guard rails 20 (FIG. 1) and/or a crib 22 (FIG. 3) to decrease the chances that the patient falls off the mattress system 10. The crib 22 is normally a foam-like material and/or inflated bladder positioned about the perimeter of the cushion 14. In many instances, the crib 22 and/or the guard rail 20 prevent patients from falling off the bed.
It is also generally known that the types of patients for whom a therapeutic bed is best suited, may have a tendency to roll off the bed and onto the floor. Alternatively, many of these patients are thin and frail and exhibit a tendency to roll to the side of the mattress and/or become trapped between the side of the therapeutic mattress and the guard rail 20 lining the sides of a therapeutic bed. Both of these circumstances are fraught with danger to the patient, and with potential liability for the health care facility. Accordingly, it has been determined that cribs 22 and/or guard rail 20 may not be sufficient.
Barr in U.S. Pat. No. 6,859,961 attempts to address that problem. Barr discloses detachable/attachable raised bolsters positioned on the mattress cover. The bolsters are positioned along (a) the side edges of the bed, leaving at least one entry-exit point for the patient along each side of the bed, and (b) the foot of the bed. Those bolsters can be easily detached from the bed cover by the patient's movement and therefore not provide the desired safety standards. The present invention is designed to decrease the ease in which the bolter design can be compromised.